take care of something / someone
"Please take care of yourself on holiday."

complain to someone (about something)
"He complained to her about the food."

concentrate on something
"The student concentrated on her homework."

congratulate someone on doing something
"He congratulated her on passing her exam."

consist of something
"The department consists of five people."

depend on someone
"She depended on her friends for support."

explain something to someone
"She explained the new system to them."

listen to someone
"The students listened to their teacher."

look at something
"Look at that view - it's wonderful."

look for something / someone
"Will you help me look for my book?"

look after someone
"I need to look after my mother - she's ill."

pay someone for something
"Can you pay me for the shopping later?"

prefer someone / something to someone
"I prefer coffee to tea."

protect someone from something
"A scarf will protect you from the cold."

provide someone with something
"They provide families with housing."

regard someone as
"She regarded her sister as her best friend."

rely on someone / something
"Can I rely on you to get the shopping?"

search for someone / something
"The police searched the building for bombs."

spend money / time on
"I spent all my money on books as a student."

think about someone / something
"I think about you all the time."

think about / of doing something
"I'm thinking about / of buying a new car."

think of something
"I've just thought of a new idea."
"What do you think of the new magazine?"

translate from something into something else
"Don't translate from English into French."

wait for someone
"I waited an hour for him, then went home."

warn someone about
"The doctor warned her about smoking."

Prepositions and Verbs Quiz

Level: Elementary and above

1. He asked her __ close the window.

for

to

about

You ask someone to do something.

2. He apologised __ the mistake.

to

about

for

You apologise for something (= say you are sorry).

3. She asked him __ advice about her homework..

to

about

for

You ask someone for something.

4. The book consists __ three parts.

about

in

of

Remember: something consists of various things.

5. We might go to the beach tomorrow. It depends __ the weather.

of

on

to

Another typical problem verb! It's depend on (not depend of...)

6. What are you looking __?
The car manual. I want to change the stereo.

in

on

at

There are lots of prepositions you can use with 'look'. In the example above, 'look at' means to read or observe. You can also have 'look for' (to search), 'look up' (find the meaning in a dictionary or in the internet, etc.

7. I hate waiting __ the train.

for

on

to

You wait for something to happen.

8. He spends a lot of time __ his homework.

for

to

on

You spend time or money on something.

9. She prefers classical music __ jazz music.

to

from

of

You prefer one thing to another thing.

10. We're thinking __ moving house.

about

for

to

When you think about (or think of) doing something, you are considering or planning it.